EVALUATION OF LIGNOCELLULOSIC BIOMASS UPGRADING ROUTES TO FUELS AND CHEMICALS

The study evaluates wood and non-wood lignocellulosic conversion into biofuels and renewable intermediate chemical products, on the basis of material efficiency, heat content in final products (lower heating value) and properties of fuel components, as related to their use, existing cars and storage. This type of conversion efficiency analysis can be viewed as a first step in biorefinery route optimization. The upgrading routes considered here include gasification, pyrolysis with subsequent gasification, ethanol, anaerobic acetic acid and ABE-fermentation, digestion and chemical conversion of sugars into fuel. The material efficiency is calculated on the basis of potential yields. In addition, the subsequent conversion of these intermediate products to fuel components through chemical reactions has been considered. Intermediate chemicals, such as ethylene, propylene, ethyl acetate and acetic acid, have also been analyzed. Chemical upgrading of sugars, acetic acid fermentation and gasification converted most of the raw material heat content in the products. The components with good properties containing some oxygen, such as butanol, methyltetrahydrofuran (MTHF) and ethers, appeared as promising from the viewpoint of both fuel properties and biomass conversion.